Intertwine
by xLebeaux
Summary: "God, she had him. She had him good. Truth be told, if they were going to strip everything down for what it was worth, Clare's fifteen year old self had him at hello, or rather at 'Sylvia Plath killed herself.' " Eli and Clare find that through the years, love is never easy, and that they need to help each other at their worst in order to deserve each other at their best. ECLARE.
1. Coffee Date at Dawn

**My first Eli and Clare story. I hope you enjoy this, it's been in the making and in the mind for a while- and it feels great to finally get it typed out :)**

**Enter the beginning. **

_**Intertwine**_

X

"_Coffee Date at Dawn"_

X

"Good morning, baby."

His calm greeting came out in a whispered voice. She could smell the soothing mixture of his natural light vanilla scent that for some indescribable reason reminded her of a summer's evening.

_Mmm…Eli_. Her eyes were still closed but she could sense that he was there, staring at her. She slowly opened her eyes, only to see his emerald orbs staring back at her blue ones.

Clare semi groaned. Eli was crouched down next to what she though was their bed and was level with where her head was rested on the pillow. Her vision was still blurred, but she felt him as he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

Clare's eyes slowly became adjusted to her surroundings but soon realized that she was in fact not in their bedroom, she had fallen asleep in the living room while writing and editing her piece for a series that she was working on for the next issue of 'The Exponent', a newspaper she currently worked for as a journalist and one of the members on the editors team for the 'Features' and 'Related Arts' section.

Eli inhaled lightly as he stared at his Clare.

'_Mmm…sweet sweet strawberries'…_He realized that for an indescribable reason, her scent always reminded him of an autumn evening's breeze.

Eli looked down at the girl who had wrapped herself around his heart in one swift motion years ago. She had been so tired lately; he couldn't help but feel concerned for Clare seeing her in such a busy and stressed state these past few weeks.

He knew they both were having a bit of trouble keeping up with one another lately, always on a different schedule, never quite on the same wavelength with her job at _The Exponent,_ and his hours at UT, teaching English Literature, Modern Literature, and Application of The Arts courses. His Publisher and Editor were also very demanding over the past few months as he rushed to meet a deadline for his latest novel.

Eli hadn't planned on continuing his first book as a series, but after "Crimson and Gold" received a surprising amount of recognition, reviews and comments, he found himself pounding at the keyboard lacing together more scenarios, plots, and intriguing characters into the tale he had created. He finally sent a hard copy of his second edition to the series to his Editor a week ago and was now finding his rhythm back into his and Clare's life.

He realized, however, that she was not quite over her own personal mountain of work in terms of her current projects; she was still staying up late nights trying to get everything in order, edited, and ready for presentation.

God, she had him. She had him good. Truth be told, if they were going to strip everything down for what it was worth, Clare's fifteen year old self had him at hello…or rather at, _"Sylvia Plath killed herself."_

He couldn't help but let his lips tug into a smile as he thought back to that day in their English Lit. class ten years ago, and how being sixteen years old seemed like a lifetime ago.

'_And look how far we've come…' _Eli thought nostalgically.

Eli had successfully graduated from Degrassi and was accepted into NYU, and Clare was not far behind as she entered her senior year. That first year had been tough, but truth be told, it was only preparing the two of them for their biggest challenge. Clare was accepted to Stanford and it was at that point they both realized they were going to have to work harder than ever to keep going strong.

Long distance was not easy. There were many a nights that consisted of arguments, snapping, tears, and straight up exhaustion. And yet, they made it work.

Eli remembered back a few years to the night he came up for the weekend to visit Clare. After two hours of disagreeing, arguments and feeling exhausted and hopeless Eli found himself on the verge of breaking.

"_It's not supposed to be easy Eli!" She shouted at him, as if trying to get through to whatever doubts he was feeling. _

"_I know Clare! But we are stretching ourselves thin with patience, and I'm still trying to grasp that whole 'Love is patient Love is Kind' thing!" He shouted in annoyance. _

He remembered it so clearly, because he was absolutely surprised by Clare's response.

_She looked right at him and_ shouted _"And sometimes Love means slowly losing your mind, but that doesn't mean I will love you any less Eli Goldsworthy! If anything I come out of these hard times never loving you any less! I don't care if there are some nights that my patience is pulled so thin that it breaks—because I will always come out of it loving you with everything I have."_

It was in that moment that everything clicked, as if any feelings of doubt were pushed aside. They would make it work no matter what. And with that, they helped each other and pushed through. They made it through University and long distance, and entered "adult world".

And now here they were, back near Toronto, in somewhat familiar surroundings, both grown with some form of life experience under their belts. With Clare being twenty five, and Eli being twenty-six, it was as if the '"adult world" literally crept up on them.

Eli shook himself from his thoughts and snapped back to the present. He watched as Clare's eyes closed again, clearly ignoring his attempts to wake her up.

"Come on baby, I know you are tired but start the day with me. You won't regret it."

"Go away."

How cute, she was being difficult.

"Let's go my little journalist, _up!" _dissatisfied by her lack of enthusiasm to move, he removed the sheets from her horizontal form causing her to curl up and bring her legs up and close to her chest, her figure resembling that of a fetal position.

"Nuuughmm…"

"That doesn't mean anything Clare. I haven't seen my beautiful brilliant journalist at all lately. Come on, time to get up. " He knelt down once again and pushed a few auburn curls out of her face. She shook her head lightly and continued to doze off back into slumber.

He sighed, almost feeling defeated. He then decided to bring into action his wake-up-call tactics.

He gave her a small and soft kiss on her nose that got a small smile from her in return.

He watched the edges of her lips turn upward, her mouth making the _"Mmm"_ sound that he loved so much.

"Aw, you like that Clare?" he came in closer to the crook of her neck and began to nuzzle her continuously. "Eli like's it too."

"Do whatever you want to me, just don't wake me up." She mumbled, clearly not a morning person today. She then turned to the side ignoring his attempt to bring her to life.

As tempting as that offer was coming from Clare, who was in a slight sleep-induced coma, He only stuck to the simple wakeup call tactics. He would get her back later…and she most definitely will not want to be asleep during _that. _Caught up in his own head, Eli was grinning like a fool but snapped out of it when he saw she was as good as asleep once again.

"Alright baby, I knew you were going to be difficult. So I was a good and brought you something that you quite frankly can't resist."

She heard the steps as he made an exit from the room, only a moment long enough to grab something from the kitchen. As he made his way back she could immediately smell the irresistible aroma of coffee grinds, the scent bitter, roasted and strong from where she laid.

He sat next to her on the couch and moved the four dollar and fifty cent latte around her nose, intoxicating her senses further as he held one for himself in his other free hand.

She was still buried in her pillow, but she extended a single arm, her hand was outreached waiting for the beautiful god sent drink.

"Gimme."

"That is no way for you to thank the man in your life that has brought you this beautiful gift." She smiled back at him, hardly wanting to dispute anything he threw at her at this hour. Finally, she made her way to sit up and he handed her the coffee cup and watched as she slowly drank her coffee.

She leaned against him resting her head on his shoulder.

"Mm, you know the way to my heart at 7am. How on earth did I get so lucky?" She asked gratefully in her raspy morning voice that he always found unbelievably sexy.

"Anything for my girl." He whispered as he kissed the side of her head through her lovely disheveled hair. "I'm so sorry we haven't seen much of each other this past month Clare. It seems like all this work has been getting to both of us. I miss you, baby."

Clare looked up at Eli who face looked sad and disappointed; she reached out and caressed his cheek reassuringly.

"Hey…You have nothing to be sorry about. You're here now, I'm here now. At this very moment I couldn't ask for more." She told him in all seriousness, and brought his face towards hers for a kiss.

"Mmm…Clare, how did I get so lucky?" He said with an equally heartfelt smile, mimicking her previous words.

They sat there for a while, simply enjoying their coffees, and enjoying each other's company, the sun's bright ray's streaming through the window, marking the mornings beginning.

Eli was currently running his fingers through her hair while she was rubbing her free hand over his thigh.

"Clare, now that you are speaking in full sentences, you can get yourself in that shower and get ready for the day." He told her, in hopes to further motivate her to make her way out of bed and join the rest of the world with him.

She continued sipping her coffee. And to Eli's surprise, she sent him that sleepy sexy look of hers before responding.

"Only if you join me." She breathed out, a smile creeping on those beautiful lips of hers.

Eli did not need to be told twice.

"And, how, Mrs. Goldsworthy could I possibly say no to such an invitation?"

X

**And that is the beginning. **

**Looks like Eli and Clare are trying to keep up with each other and meet in the middle after missing each other due to their hectic lives…and Eli is subtly noticing Clare's stress and exhaustion.**

**Let me know what you think—reviews greatly appreciated!**

**Reviews = Love**

**Love = Happiness and Motivation**

**Motivation = New Chapter Faster**

**Need I say more? ;)**

**Til' next time**

**-Lebs.**


	2. Four Hours

**Alright, enter chapter 2-thanks for the reviews, they are much appreciated and I love reading all of the feedback. Also thanks for all the new followers!**

**Annnnd Action.**

_**Intertwine**_

X

"_Four Hours"_

X

"_Oh my God..._ that was-"

"I know."

"I mean that was _really_-"

"I know…" He breathed out with such a slap-happy smirk on his face as he kissed a trail of butterfly kisses that began at Clare's collarbone and worked their way up past her neck and up to meet her lips.

"Why do I feel like it's been forever since we've been able to do this?" Clare asked out loud, still catching her breath.

"Because it has." Eli responded with a heartfelt sigh as he let his body rest on hers for a moment out of exhaustion. He then rolled off of his wife so as not to crush her tiny frame. He realized that Clare must have lost weight due to stress from her job and these recent projects, not that she needed to worry about her weight at all, she had such a beautiful body.

Clare rested her head on his chest as Eli pulled her close, wrapping both arms around her.

Eli loved sex. Scratch that, Eli loved sex with Clare. Eli loved having sex with his _wife_. And truth be told, he was glad they waited until their wedding night a year ago for their first time together. It was worth every minute of the wait, give or take the inevitable nights of sexual frustration. But with Clare…he was really _making love_ to her, each and every time they had sex.

And their current sex-capade was no exception to his love filled philosophy. A trail of clothes that started in the living room led up to the bathroom. After that hot and steamy shower Eli had wrapped Clare up in a towel drying her off slowly, while kissing the crook of her neck, an area he knew for a fact would turn her to jelly. And just like that she attacked him with her lips as he picked her up bridal style and rushed over to the their bed.

He had removed her towel, and she blushed as she always did. He would never get tired of the way that crimson color would creep up on her creamy skin. But after that everything mixed together in a blur as they both covered each other with kisses and explored each other's body as if the exposed skin was new territory all over again.

Eli looked down at Clare, who was currently tracing his hand with her own.

"What are you thinking?" He asked in a sleepy voice.

"How it's been four hours since you woke me up to 'join the world' and we haven't even left this room yet." She replied with a smirk in her own morning voice.

Eli's eyes shifted over to the clock and saw that it was 11am.

"Is that a problem?" He asked in amusement with his eyebrows raised in such an Eli Goldsworthy manner.

She swiftly turned herself over until she was on top of him, her hair, now a bit longer and went past her shoulders, dangled down. Eli brushed it out of her face as she brought her lips down to meet his, her tongue battling for dominance over his. Eli groaned as she pulled away and let her hand linger on his cheek.

"Does that answer your question?" She asked with a smile.

"Careful there darling, or I will have to keep you in here for another four hours."

She rolled her eyes and let herself rest on top of him.

"Mmm…I miss this. I hadn't realized how crazy these past few weeks have been…" She said in an apologetic voice.

It was true, and yet Eli couldn't have been more grateful that it was a Sunday and that neither of them had any obligations to fulfill until the inevitable manic Monday made is grand entrance the next day.

He gently stroked her head as she laid there on top of him.

"Clare…is everything ok? You know, with your new position, with work…with you?" Eli inquired in a serious tone. Clare usually avoided any lingering conversation on her work life, due to the fact that she saw how easily Eli grew concerned over the anxiety it caused her recently.

"It's all fine. Just need to power through and get it done." She responded simply.

And it was such a Clare response, to brush off her problems and simply say it's just something she needs to get through.

"Be honest with me." It was more of a demand if not a question.

"It is what it is Eli, sometimes work is really tough, but I told you it's fine." She said in such a simple manner, yet again.

"You haven't been feeling well, you said so yourself."

"That was a week ago."

"Well, I wasn't sure if it had passed or not."

"Well, it did."

A silence fell between them as they both could feel a barrier being built.

"You know what, I need to get some things done today, I should really get moving." Clare said in an evasive tone as she stood up with the sheet wrapped over her body, clearly feeling self-conscious of Eli's worry.

"Clare…"

"No it's okay, baby." Clare told him with a semi-sad smile. She made her way to their walk in closet and began to change into day clothes.

Eli raked his hands through his hair and then stood up and slipped on his boxers.

She emerged from the closet in a pair of denim jeans a white V-neck shirt and a cute quarter length sleeve grey sweater.

He walked over to her and took hold of her by her shoulders and gave her a sincere look.

"Hey, I didn't mean to push you about anything, you know that. I'm sorry. "

"I do know that." She replied and brought herself in to hug him. "And I'm sorry too, baby, things have been stressful, that's all. I know it will all die down in a little bit." She told him honestly, while at the same time trying to convince herself that all of this would pass.

Eli held her there securely in his arms, wanting nothing more than to sit her down and make her talk everything through with him. But he knew he had to give her a little space, in hopes that she would make her way back to him.

She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek before releasing herself form the embrace. "I'm going to run to the market, hit the bookstore, and drop off a few things at Katie's."

"I'm going out to do a few things myself, I can grab the dry-cleaning while I'm out if you want."

"Regroup around 2?"

"Ah, maybe make it 3? I told Adam I would stop by sometime today."

"Of course." Clare smiled as she went to grab her purse from the dresser.

"And hey…" she started as she walked back towards Eli, "The day's not over, baby. It'll be a relaxing evening. We'll have some wine later on, go out on the balcony for a bit, I can make dinner and then we can maybe…" She let her words trail off as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck letting her hands massage the back of his head before she leaned in to kiss him. Eli let out a small moan as his hands rested on her waist while his thumb began to tug at the hem her soft white shirt.

"Mmm, don't go." He pleaded as he guided her hips towards his.

"The faster we take care of everything, the faster we get back-" She replied as she pulled away.

"Uh-uh." He smiled and brought her back in and deepened their kiss.

"Eli-"

"Yes darling?"

"We have to-"

"Hm?" He asked coyly as he brought his mouth down to the crook of her neck and placed a light and delicate kiss on that one especially sensitive spot.

And just like that she turned to jelly again. He hoisted her up as she locked her legs around his middle, their lips connecting yet again as they made their way to their bed.

"Errands can wait." She said breathlessly after they fell onto the mattress.

"Errands can go fuck themselves. Meanwhile, I'm going to fu-"

"Eli!"

"-Err going to get these clothes off of you. Who invented clothes anyway?" He asked out loud, actually pondering their relevancy to life.

"Eli…hurry up" Clare demanded in an eager voice.

Eli looked down at Clare and smirked.

Yeah, they weren't going anywhere for a least another four hours.

X

**So this was a bit of a short chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. **

**There is definitely a bit of tension that you can see subtly building, but at least there is some sweet eclare love moment :)**

**I wonder what will happen. Haha, well, more to come I promise. **

**Remember, reviews are greatly appreciated-**

**Reviews = Love**

**Love = Happiness and Motivation**

**Motivation = New Chapter Faster**

**Need I say more? ;)**

**Til' next time**

**-Lebs.**


	3. Mentally Slapped

**Here's chapter three :) Thank you guys so much for the reviews, as always they are much appreciated. I will just cut to the chase since you have waited patiently—**

**Annnnnd action! :)**

_**Intertwine**_

X

"_Mentally Slapped"_

X

"But it was really great, Jake's dad is so funny, I always have such a good time with them. You wouldn't believe what they did at dinner-"

Clare smiled as she intently listened to her friend. Well, if anything she was trying to listen intently, she had gotten out of work late again after her boss asked her if she was up for revising a few of the layouts for an upcoming series that Clare and her team were currently working on. Clare had said that it wasn't a problem and took on the task that kept her at work well until almost seven. She knew her boss would have been alright if she had said she would work on them right away the next day, but at this point it was instinct for Clare to say she would take care of it and add it to her heavy workload. Afterwards, she stopped at Katie and Jake's right after work, seeing as she never did get to see Katie that past Sunday when she and Eli were—_er_r…distracted. They were currently lounging in the living room drinking some herbal tea that Katie insisted on making.

"—I swear both of them together are like a tag team, it's hilarious. I always forget how much Jake and his Dad are alike. But anyways, the restaurant was great, you and Eli should go there sometime. You guys still like Italian right?"

Clare was still lost in thought and didn't notice when her friend raised a brow and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Claaaare?"

She snapped out of her daze and looked back at Katie. "What? Oh- I'm sorry Katie. It's been a long day…"

Katie simply smiled and waved her hand and dismissed the apology. "That's ok, I know you've been busy. I feel bad, you didn't have to stop by after working so late. I feel like I've been keeping you here too long, I should probably let you go."

Clare looked at the clock and had to do a double take when she realized it was already after eight.

"Oh my God, How did it get so late? I really need to get home." She said out loud before rubbing her head with a free hand to ease the feeling of oncoming fatigue.

Katie looked her friend over and could easily read her body language. Clare was clearly distracted and overwhelmed about something.

"Hey…are you doing okay? I spent so much time talking about me and Jake, I haven't had a chance to see how you're doing."

Katie was an older sister figure towards Clare. After Darcy had left, Clare hadn't had that type of sisterly bond with anyone until her and Katie become close. Clare felt guilty at times, knowing that Katie worried about her, and yet she knew it was all because she cared.

She gave Katie a reassuring and convincing smile before responding.

"I am good, just busy." Clare responded lightly as she stood up and grabbed her purse and keys.

"Are you feeling any better?" Katie asked in a soft tone, eyeing Clare as she gathered her things.

Clare stopped for a moment as her gaze shifted away from Katie's concerned face. She let out a sigh and then looked at her friend while running a hand nervously through her auburn curls. Clare shrugged in an honest manner, not exactly sure how to respond to Katie's question.

Truth be told, she had not been feeling well lately, and the stress at work with the new projects didn't help relieve her anxiety, she didn't want her health to get in the way of getting this particular job done. She had worked so hard this past month and didn't want to let anyone on her team down by not pulling her own weight. Not only that, but Eli's work was also hectic over the past month, she knew how hard he had been working to meet his deadlines for his novel while also balancing course plans and lectures.

"Not completely better, but I'm fine." Clare finally said in response to Katie.

"Clare…did you take-" Katie began, in an attempt to scold Clare. But Clare simply held a hand up to Katie, gesturing that she should not even start.

"Katie, don't. I told you, I just haven't been getting enough sleep. It's hectic at work and that has me a little off my usual routine. And Eli and I keep on missing each other with our schedules and different projects, so it's been hard to keep up with each other. But it's just stress, and it will pass, okay?" Clare semi-pleaded, hoping that her answer would end this specific conversation.

"Have you been eating enough lately?"

"Katie-"

"I know how you get when you're stressed, Clare. You usually have a hard time eating and sleeping. On top of that, you're sick and that's really not a good combination." Katie told her knowingly while walking into the kitchen and dropping their cups in the sink.

"You're overreacting." Clare said, but still gave her friend a grateful smile for her concern.

"Can you blame me? You're like, my sister—well, you'll _officially_ be my sister in law in a week. But that's just a dumb technicality; you know you are like a sister to me. So, that gives me full rights to give you a hard time about this." Katie crossed her arms and gave Clare a satisfied smile.

"And you're the best for caring so much, but trust me, I'm okay." Clare told Katie with another reassuring smile.

"I still think you should take-"

"Let it go for now, Katie."

Katie let out a defeated sigh and threw her hands up, "Okay, okay. I'll let it go."

"Thank you. And thanks for having me over, I'll see you later this week." Clare started for the door, but stopped when Katie shouted after her.

"And don't forget, we have that rehearsal dinner on Thursday at six, and I need my maid of honor to be there nice and early!"

"There's no way I will forget, I have all three of your reminders pinned to the fridge and six e-mails." Clare teased before waving goodbye and heading out the door.

When she closed the door, Clare let out a shaky breath and pressed her hand to her forehead. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to just stop at the drugstore really quick…

Clare shook herself away from her thoughts, not ready to wander down that road of 'what if's'.

She was so exhausted and still needed to revise those documents once she got home.

It was going to be a long night.

X

"Hey there beautiful, I thought you were kidnapped."

After stopping at the drugstore, Clare walked in the door close to 9:00 and was greeted by a smirking Eli who was sitting at his work desk typing and scanning something on his Laptop. She smiled back at him and walked straight to their bedroom to get the little plastic bag out of Eli's sight. She took out two small pink boxes and starred at them for a moment, she stuffed them in her purse and tossed it on her dresser before walking back to see Eli.

He was reading something intently and after he looked it over quickly one more time, he closed his computer and walked over to Clare.

One look at her and he felt his heart pull. The love of his life looked overwhelmed, exhausted, and downright sick. He wished he hadn't always let her dismiss his concern lately, because if anything, that only concerned him even more. Eli had been so patient, hoping that she would approach him about her current physical state, but by the way things had been going, it seemed like Clare continued to push her personal issue to the backburner. The fact that she was reverting back to how she handled things when they were in high school set heavy on him. He remembered especially how traumatized she had been after the Asher incident and how she kept trying to handle it on her own, and only unraveled herself in the end. He didn't want her to go through those motions again, not this time around. Whatever was going on, he needed to address the issue to her head on.

Clare automatically leaned into Eli. He smiled and ran his hand soothingly over the back of her head.

"How was your day?" She asked after a moment, pulling away from the embrace to take off her jacket.

"Not bad, until some kid made some absurd comment in my Related Arts class. Well, I guess it wasn't too bad, kinda funny actually, but still, sometimes I regret having open discussions when kids decided to be stupid and say idiotic things." He told her while rolling her eyes.

Eli watched Clare closely as she walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. He decided it was now or never and began to ease his way into addressing his concerns.

"I should be the one asking you how your day was, did they make you stay late again?" He inquired in a concerned voice, not liking when his wife came home looking so defeated and exhausted.

She shook her head as she drank her water before responding. "I stayed until 7 to do last minute revisions for some layouts that my boss asked me to do and then stopped at Katie's for a while. I'm sorry, time got away from me when I was over there, she had a few wedding things to go over."

"It's okay. I got back around seven myself." He told her in response to her apology, while still watching her carefully. God, she looked beat. Eli continued to ease into talking to her.

"Baby, you look tired…there's some dinner on the stove, I can heat you up something and then you can head right to bed, you really need the sleep." Eli suggested as Clare propped her arms on the counter, holding her exhausted body up.

"Not hungry, but thank you." She responded kindly.

"Then just bed?" He pushed.

"I would love to just crash and hit my pillow right now, but I can't." Clare walked past Eli, but was stopped when he lightly wrapped his hand around hers, guiding her back towards him.

"Why not?"

"I got an e-mail from Laura saying she won't be in tomorrow since her mom's in the hospital. I told her I can help and finish revising the layouts for the presentation later this week." She swept her hand across his one cheek, trying to ease his nerves.

"You should do them tomorrow morning."

"I don't think I can-"

"Clare." Eli stated sternly, his face serious, before he continued. "I don't want to dance around the subject anymore. I've been patient, but you keep dodging this conversation. You still don't look like you're feeling well."

"I'm okay, I told you it passed last week-"

"Would you quit acting like there's nothing wrong!" He didn't want to raise his voice, but he needed Clare to talk to him. "It's not healthy and I'm really starting to worry."

"Eli, I really need to get these done-"

"No, what you really need is to get some sleep and let me take you to see a doctor like I wanted to last week."

"Eli, come on, I don't need a doctor!" She exclaimed nervously, feeling vulnerable as his emerald eyes searched her face.

"You won't eat, you don't sleep enough—"

"It's because I can't keep anything down!" She shouted, pushing past him and making her way to their room.

"You're not really helping your whole 'I don't need a doctor' case." He shouted out, following right behind her.

"There is no 'case' Eli! Just leave it alone!" He watched as she grabbed her night clothes and entered the bathroom, slamming the door in frustration.

Eli mirrored his wife's frustration by raking his hands through his hair. He sat on their bed and let his head rest in his hands. Marriage could really suck sometimes. He thought his Dad was over exaggerating whenever he would tell Eli about how unreasonable CeCe could be. He told his Dad that Clare wouldn't be unreasonable like that, but he took one glance over at the bathroom door and thought about his current situation. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Eli weighed the options of either giving Clare some space to cool down, or wait patiently for her to come out so they could continue to go at it. He was in favor of the first option, mostly because he'd rather approach her when she was in a more reasonable state, instead of the stubborn one she was in now.

Eli was about to make his way out of the room, but a small, almost unnoticeable item that was peaking its way out of Clare's purse and caught his eye. He wouldn't have given it a second glance, considering it was well wedged in the bag, except Eli could make out four tiny letters on the small pink box that made his heart stop mid-beat. His eyes widened at the word _'test'. _Eli grew nervous, wondering if the word in front of _'test' _was what he thought it was.

If this little box was going to help Eli figure out what was going on, then he was going to go for it before he became hesitant. The dire need to know got the better of him, so without even thinking twice, Eli rushed over to the dresser and pulled the small box out of Clare's purse.

His voice caught in his throat as he tried to process what had just happened in the matter of five seconds, and to further process what he was now holding in his hand.

"_A pregnancy test?" _was all Eli could breathe out, as if questioning if this was all happening.

Still caught up in his thoughts, he did not hear the bathroom door open, and before he had time to react any further, the sound of his wife's distraught and angry voice snapped him back to reality, "What are you doing-?"

Clare saw Eli hunched over their dresser and when he turned to face her, her eyes moved down to the little box he was holding.

"-Oh."

"Clare, what is this?" Eli asked slowly, almost as if he hadn't read it correctly. His eyes were glued on hers, brows knitted together in confusion and concern as he waited for a response.

Clare felt an enormous rush of anxiety creep its way through her body. She couldn't have this conversation, she didn't know how to have this conversation or how to tell him about something like this, hell-she didn't even know if there was anything to tell yet. She couldn't open her mouth or find her voice. She had to say something—anything, because the tension filled silence was making the moment unbearable. She finally found it in herself to open her mouth and speak.

"Umm…Nothing?"

She mentally slapped herself. Maybe not saying anything would have been the smarter move.

_X_

**Well well well, did you see that coming? Haha, so it looks like Clare is getting a little curious about what's going on and decided to take a leap and buy a little test from a drugstore (wink wink nudge nudge). Eli's getting just as curious if not concerned and by the looks of it, he just found a little something that may answer a few of his questions. Where will things go from here? The fight's far from over, they now have much more to talk about.**

**Reviews = Love**

**Love = Happiness and Motivation**

**Motivation = New Chapter Faster**

**Need I say more? ;)**

**Til' next time**

**-Lebs.**


	4. Some Things Should Come First

**Thanks for hanging in there guys! I apologize in advance for this late late update and this short chapter! Thanks for all the reviews!**

**Annnd action!**

**Intertwine**

X

Some Things Should Come First

X

Eli stared at the girl in front of him.

He was thrown off by her response to say the least.

"Nothing?" He repeated slowly, eyeing his wife in disbelief.

Clare's gaze was fixed on the ground. He watched as she slowly ran her hands through her bangs, the shorter wisps of hair had fallen from the ponytail that tied half of her hair back, giving her a more tousled look.

Clare was stuck. She was not ready for this confrontation. Hell, she didn't even know how to comprehend the situation at hand. Eli was right there in front of her, asking her about a subject that she herself was still hesitant about approaching. Not only that, but it would sure be hard to maneuver her way out of this one considering he was holding the small little box in his hand as proof.

She took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm her inner emotions; she did not want to lose her composure in front of Eli. She finally looked up and saw that her husband's eyes were fixated on her. His eyes were desperate and searching for answers, she felt a tug at her heart seeing Eli look so concerned and hurt. She had to say something—anything.

"I mean…it could be nothing."

Two points for Clare's informative responses.

'_Unbelievable' _he thought.

Clare knew that wasn't what Eli had wanted to hear. She watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose, probably trying to ease his chaotic thoughts. She noticed him take in a deep breath before looking back up to her.

"And it could be something." He responded in an equally convincing tone.

"It's nothing."

"Clare…"

"I really don't want to do this, it's been a rough day-"

"Clare, this is a pregnancy test!"

"I know what it is Eli! I'm the one who bought it!" She shot back irritably. She walked past him to her dresser and she tossed the rest of her belongings that she had bought from the store into her dresser drawer.

Eli gazed at Clare, shocked by her remark. Clare was rarely someone who jumped to being angry. Witty, yes, sarcastic, absolutely, but retorting in such an angry manner? That was something that came out when she was upset, really upset.

His confusion and concern began to grow as his mind went into overdrive-his wife had been stretched to her absolute limit, she overwhelmed herself constantly with work and has hardly had the time to eat let alone sleep, and now there was the possibility that they could be having a baby.

_A baby… _

Eli kept his eyes locked on Clare who had rested both her arms on the dresser, her head hung slightly downward.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked in a soft voice.

She didn't respond.

Eli disregarded her silence and stepped towards her. He placed both his hands gently on her waist and directed her body to turn around so she was facing him.

Her body language read as stubborn, but he succeeded in getting her to face him. Eli's main goal was to get his wife to open up to him, he couldn't stand seeing Clare like this.

"Clare, why didn't you tell me?" He asked again keeping his tone even so as not to scare her off while discussing the matter at hand.

"There is nothing to tell."

"This is serious-"

"And I'm being serious. It's just a test Eli, it's probably just a false alarm. The only reason I have it anyways is because Katie insisted-"

"Wait a minute, you've talked to Katie about this and not me?" Eli asked in disbelief.

"Oh here we go…" Clare mumbled.

"How long have you known?"

"I don't 'know' anything yet!" She snapped at him again and pushed out of his grasp.

Eli watched her walk away from him, completely stunned by her attitude.

"What the hell is going on with you?"

"For starters, I'm tired of having Katie, Jake, and everyone else I know or work with constantly being on my back and not letting me just do my job and handle myself-"

"Well maybe that's because you're not really doing that great of a job of handling yourself, did you ever think of that? Come on Clare, it's too much! I see you, you're exhausted and stretched so thin, you have had all this stress recently, and it's not going anywhere unless you take a minute to let your body and mind catch up with you!" Eli couldn't help but raise his voice, it seemed like nothing was quite getting through to his wife at the moment and he was desperate to try and break down that wall of hers.

He watched as she let out an unsteady breath, she had frustration of her own building inside, but for the life of him he couldn't get Clare to open up to him.

"Eli, I can't just stop-"

"Yes you can! Some things should come first like oh, I don't know, your health?" He countered with slight sarcasm coming off the end of his words.

"Don't talk down to me like I'm some kind of child!"

"Stop giving me reasons to do it then!"

Clare rested her face in her hands out of frustration and defeat. She shook her head as if her husband was bringing up complete and utter nonsense.

"I don't have time for this…" Is all he could hear her mutter, and before he could register was happening she pushed past him yet again.

"I need to take a shower. Do what you want." She finished telling him before slamming the door to their bathroom shut.

"Clare!" He shouted, trying to get her attention. He tried the doorknob but she had already locked it, leaving a frustrated and worried Eli on the outside.

X

**So sorry this was a short update, but I promise the next one will make up for it in length. **

**Sooo looks like Eli is left out in the dark, what on earth is going on in that head of Clare's? I'm sure it's safe to Eli that you can sure as hell bet on the fact that Eli will find out.**

**Reviews = Love**

**Love = Happiness and Motivation**

**Motivation = New Chapter Faster**

**Need I say more? ;)**

**Til' next time**

**-Lebs.**


	5. And Her Current State of Being

**Thanks for hanging in there guys! I apologize in advance for this late update! I just want to say thank you so much for all the reviews, I'm so glad that this story has been kicking off on the right foot, fingers crossed that it keeps up on the right track :)**

**Annnd action!**

**Intertwine**

X

_And Her Current State of Being_

X

Clare aggressively twisted the knob that connected to the shower head and waited for the sound of the pouring droplets to drone out Eli's persistent knocks on the door.

Once the sounds of knocks become muffled, she let out a sigh, her head reeling, and her nerves completely shot from the utterly long and stressful day. She then stripped herself of her clothing and stepped into the steamy shower. Once her body was engulfed by the hot water she let the feeling of exhaustion take over.

All she wanted to do was get her work done. Was that too much to ask? She just wanted to get it all done and out of the way, and not have people hovering and telling her that it was 'too much'. She was twenty five year old for Christ's sake, she should be working her ass off in the work place at her age to pay her dues, this kind of pacing and busy schedule was completely normal…at least that's how she justified her current situation.

"It's fine, I'm fine." She told herself quietly, reassuring any objections towards her work filled philosophy.

She then stood silently, letting the pouring water wash over her tiny frame.

X

"Dammit,"

Eli was in a less than tolerable mood.

It had been over twenty minutes since Clare shut him out to avoid talking, or as she put it, to take a shower.

He had spent the majority of that time pounding on the door, hoping to get Clare's attention back, and have her join him back in the realm of reality so they could talk, hell, he would even take silence if it meant there would no longer be a barrier of a strong immovable door in between them.

He was left to contemplate their previous exchange of words as he sat on their king sized bed, unsure of how to approach what was happening. Some things were just not adding up.

Eli wanted kids. He had always wanted kids. It must have been the whole growing up as an only child thing that led him to want the presence of children in his life. Not only that, but seeing the way his parents had interacted with each other over the years only strengthened his view on parenthood. It wasn't easy for his mom and dad to take on Eli at times, and he knew that, but they sure as hell did a damn good job of taking care of him along the way, and never loving each other any less in the process. Of course, at this point in time, there could be a very good possibility that him and Clare could be pregnant, which was a big smack in the face wake up call, bringing his focus back to the fact that kids could be a reality.

He remembered so many times bringing up the topic of kids with Clare in the past and the discussions they would have. It was mostly wishful thinking for the future discussing the possibilities of children, although he knows he probably came on stronger about the subject then he had originally thought. He mentioned all the things he wanted to do with their future kids, all the things he would teach them, and all the things that he would never in a million years let them do, like if they ever had a daughter there would be no way she would ever be dating any boys for a very long time so help him, on Morty's grave he swore to it.

Clare would usually give him a small smile and roll her eyes, then respond by saying "We won't have to worry about that for a while, so you'll have time to become more reasonable" or "Well, we have more than enough time to work out the kinks on how dating will work", or even "You're so overprotective it's ridiculous, there won't be anything like that to worry about for a long time."

Eli ran his hand through his long and tousled hair, his mind lingering on his wife and her current state of being. He was worried, that was a given. But for the life of him, he couldn't understand why Clare was having such a hard time coming to terms with the possibility of being pregnant. The anticipation itself was enough to make Eli feel as though he would explode, and yet Clare couldn't get farther from the topic. He could never recall her ever telling him that she did not want kids in the future, in fact he knew she loved kids, and babies especially made her heart turn to mush. He could recall many occasions when they would go to family events and watch as her eyes lit up, watching as one of his relatives held their newborn close to their chest. But then again, Clare had never been as quick and eager to vocalize her thoughts about babies or children the same way Eli had been, she was very hesitant and shy about approaching the subject.

Eli thought back to a year ago, when he a Clare got married. He was twenty five at the time and Clare had just turned twenty four. Eli and Clare were actually the first of their friends to get married, he proposed to her when he was twenty three and after she turned twenty two and he also remembered the conversations he had to endure with his parents, his dad especially. Sweet merciful crap, his dad went on and on and on, giving him countless speeches on marriage, being a provider, a husband, and the man of the house, and the number of responsibilities they both would be taking on by getting married at a younger age. He knew he was ready for it, and he knew Clare was all in and they made it through that first year in one piece, give or take some scrapes and bruises along the way.

He wanted his wife to talk to him. It was making him anxious and overly concerned watching her become more and more stressed and exhausted as each day went by.

Eli's thoughts came to a halt when he realized how fidgety he had become in the span of the last half hour. His heart rate had quickened and his right leg kept jerking up and down as his emotions became a mixture of stressors. He was able to catch himself and take a few deep breaths and then thought it was probably best if he took one of his pills in order to get himself somewhat more relaxed and calm, otherwise losing his lid over something that he could not exactly control at the moment wouldn't do Clare or himself any good.

Eli gazed at the bathroom door one last time and sighed. He had a feeling she wasn't coming out any minute here soon, so he stood up, and then made his way towards the kitchen to take one of his pills.

Even as he exited the room, Eli's mind continued to linger on so many thoughts.

'_Clare…what's going on in that head of yours?_'

X

Once fully dressed, Clare walked to the steamy bathroom mirror and stared at her reflection.

"Who are you?" she mumbled to the person looking back at her.

She knew she was looking at herself, and yet the person looking back at her did not look familiar. Her hair hung damp and loose against her face, cascading downwards past her shoulders. Her face was free of any make up, revealing her more than pale and tired appearance. Her bones were protruding in some areas, their sharp and prominent appearance displayed that she had in fact lost weight. She was dressed in a pair of black mini bedtime shorts and wore a gray long sleeve off the shoulder crew top that revealed her collarbone and right shoulder.

She shook her head and snapped herself away from the mirror and her reflection.

"Don't do this to yourself right now Clare," She mumbled to herself while rubbing her forehead, unwilling to let anymore anxiety creep its way through her body.

She then realized that there was silence on the other side of the door. She wondered if maybe Eli had given up on communicating with her for the evening and had gone to bed, but the thought was easily dismissed, if there was one thing she knew about her husband, it was that he never gave up on anything that easily.

She opened the door and was surprised to be met with an empty bedroom, Eli was nowhere in sight. She heard the sound of movement in the other room and walked in the direction of where the sounds were coming from.

She entered the living room which connected to their kitchen and watched as Eli tossed a pill in his mouth and gulped a glass of water to chase it down. He leaned against the counter, and rested his body for a moment, unaware of Clare's presence.

She didn't know what to say. She and Eli were more than likely still in fight mode after their last verbal exchange, there was a less than a small chance of them settling on light conversation after what had just been discussed.

Eli was still unaware of her presence, and Clare's gaze landed on the table situated by the living room window that had her work sprawled on top of it. If she was going to get any sleep tonight she had to get all this work done, and standing around wasn't going to make it go any faster. She took a few steps in the table's direction, but she couldn't shake the feelings of fatigue and stress. She placed her hand on the counter for support, although it wasn't enough to keep her body upright and she felt her knees slightly buckle.

"Clare!"

Before Clare could register what happened, she felt two strong hands grip her shoulders, steadying her body. She saw Eli's mouth moving but she could not hear his words, instead it took a few moments for her to become alert of herself and her surroundings. She then noticed she had been rubbing her forehead to help ease away the feeling of fatigue.

Clare was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of Eli's frantic voice, as he tried to get her to respond.

"I'm okay—I'm sorry. I-I'm fine," She reassured him as she tried to push out of his arms.

Eli kept a firm grip on her shoulders, they were both standing upright, but he could feel the weight of her body push its way towards him. She was trying desperately to keep herself upright, and her body language read as stubborn, but he was unwilling to let her shake out of his grasp.

"I don't think you are." Eli responded with a stern gaze.

"I said I'm fine," she replied, more agitatedly.

"Clare, I think we should take you to the hospital,"

"No—just, leave me alone, please," She replied in exhaustion. She wanted to take a step back, but she could not move her body. Actually, she could feel herself becoming lightheaded, and did not dare move until the feeling passed so she wouldn't sway and make herself look more disoriented than she felt in front of Eli.

"I'm not just dropping this, I need you to talk to me, and tell me what's wrong-"

"I said leave me alone and let me get my goddamn work done!" she snapped.

Eli was taken aback, and his face fell at his wife's severe tone. Clare could feel regret form the verbal slap she just gave Eli.

However, he did not back down. Instead he brought his hands to cradle her face making it so she could not look anywhere but straight at him. His eyes were searching, his concern never faltering, and she could tell that he was trying tremendously hard to keep himself in check.

"This isn't like you," is what she heard a quiet and worried voice say to her.

"I-I can't do this. I can't do this right now Eli, I have so much to do," Clare responded in all seriousness, ignoring his words.

"Like hell you do," he replied and she tried to push herself out of his grasp, but either he was too strong or she was too weak, because it was a useless attempt.

She felt a wave of dizziness come over her, and thought she was going to buckle and hit the ground for real this time.

Eli noticed the change in her appearance. His heart ached seeing Clare this way and was reminded of himself when he had a bad episode due to his disorder. He had been holding back and keeping his distance for far too long. He picked Clare up swiftly and carried her to the couch where he carefully sat her down, and then kneeled down so that he was eye level with her.

"Hey, Hey—look at me. Talk to me, tell me what's happening. I want to understand what was happening with you." He said in a carful but stern voice.

Clare's head was pounding and she was scared by how much the pounding in her chest increased. She placed a hand on her chest to ease the pain, but Eli's concern only grew when he realized she was shaking.

"Clare?"

Clare was silent and could not respond, she was too focused on the pain she felt forming in her body.

Her mind was reeling, the thought of how much work needed to get done was weighing heavy on her chest, the fact that her body and Eli were not letting her keep up with her schedule was making her feel anxious and overwhelmed. Somehow Clare found the energy to push up off the couch and past Eli.

"You need to lay down, I'm calling you in sick tomorrow-"

"No-no, I, I can't do that!"

Her heart began to pound erratically and the pain in her chest was causing her to let out shaky breathes. Eli took note of this and shook his head, he would not hear of her defiance anymore. She was not okay. Something was not right.

"Clare! That's it, we're going to the hospital!"

"I don't want to go, I just want to get my work done!"

"I don't care what you want right now!"

"I told you, I-I can handle myself, I just—I just-"

Clare's own words became lost to her, She brought he hand back up to her forehead and tried to calm herself down, but the feeling of exhaustion and fatigue all came crashing down at full force.

It all happened in an instant. When Eli finally realized what was happening, he watched in horror as Clare fell forward, her body giving out and her eyes rolling in the back of her head.

X

**Well, you know the drill—**

**Reviews = Love**

**Love = Happiness and Motivation**

**Motivation = New Chapter Faster**

**Need I say more? ;)**

**Til' next time**

**-Lebs.**


	6. Just Breathe

**Thank you for your support and Reviews! You've waited long enough so I will jusy say: Annnnnnd Action!**

**Intertwine**

X

_Just Breathe_

_X_

The smell of disinfectant was overpowering.

Clare opened her eyes and winced at the bright blinding lights that filled her vision.

The lights bounced off the whitewashed walls, only to come back more radiant and overwhelming. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out the forms of medical equipment. She felt with both her handsaround until she grabbed what she could make out as bed bars which were placed on both sides of the bed she was placed on. White immaculate sheets bunched up around her keeping her in place. A gray finger tab was attached to her delicately pale left ring finger while a constant beeping accompanied the tab and sounded at her left.

Her vision was still adjusting, and her surroundings still came out as disoriented, but after a long, foggy moment, Clare recognized where she was.

"No, no no…" she said in a tired and strained voice.

The last place Clare wanted to be was a hospital, and yet here she was in the presence of the sterile, white, cold and desolate room. What the hell was she doing here? How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was arguing with Eli in the living room…and then…nothing.

She propped herself upright, and began to glance around frantically. She could hear a beeping increase as her heart began to pound faster.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, you're ok, just relax," said a voice accompanied by two hands that reached out and began to rub soothing circles on the back of her left hand.

Clare looked over to the person sitting next to her and was surprised to see her brother, a look of relief and worry spread across his face.

"Jake, what are you—why am I—what did—why am I here?" Her words were choppy and thrown out nervously, the monitor began to speed up in its beeps again; Jake's gaze went from the monitor and then back to Clare.

"Hey, I'm going to need you to calm down…I'll fill you in, but I need you to take a breath and take it easy." He said carefully.

He kept his eyes on Clare until she leaned back on her propped up pillow. Once a steady beep could be heard, Jake smiled and let out a small sigh.

"I'm glad you're awake sis. You had a lot of people scared." Jake said as he sat in his chair, watching his sister.

"Why am I here?" Clare asked again as calmly as she could.

Jake leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh, recalling the past events.

"God Clare, "He began as he rubbed the back of his head. "It was the scariest thing getting that call from Eli saying that you two were at the hospital, I've never heard him sound that frantic in my life. He kept going on how he called an ambulance because you collapsed, and how they just wheeled you off somewhere, I could hardly make it out. So Katie and I rushed here as soon as we could and Eli said you hadn't been feeling well, and exhaustion caught up with you. My dad and your mom are still out at the beach house, but I left a few messages on their voicemail, since they don't get reception out there. At least now I call again letting them know you're awake," He said as he recounted the last few events.

Clare closed her eyes and brought her hand to her head as she let Jake's words set in.

"I didn't know you weren't feeling well. You should have said something, you know? You work yourself too hard." Jake told her giving a half smile, conveying his care for his sister.

She wanted so badly to disregard Jake's comment, but it seemed to have been an ongoing theme for people to state that she should "talk" or "let them know" about how she was doing. It all slowly came back to her, the fight, the shaking, Eli…. she took a deep breathe in order to keep herself collected.

By the lack of details that Jake gave in regards to her condition, she deduced that Eli must have given a watered down version of why she was in the hospital to ease any worry on her family's part—exhaustion, dehydration, temperature maybe? They were all believable.

Oh God, Eli. Their last conversation had ended in a less than civil manner, the argument got the better of her and it landed her where she was now. She looked back up at Jake.

"Where is he?" she asked in a raspy voice.

Jake gestured to the other chair that was situated in the room that had Eli's coat hanging off the back of it, while his keys, wallet and cell phone were set on top of a small side table.

"He wouldn't leave your side. It took everything possible to get him to step out for a few minutes to get some food, coffee, or something. But he'll be back any minute," He said and watched as Clare said nothing but simply nodded in response.

Jake gave her another small half smile before standing up and reaching into his pocket.

"I'm going to step out for a bit, I promised Katie I would give her a call as soon as you were awake, she was freaking out like crazy, I had to do some major convincing to get her to go home and get some rest too. I'll be back in a few minutes…I'm glad you're awake Clare." Jake leaned down and gave his step sister a quick kiss on the top of her head and then walked out of her room.

Clare was left in the whitewashed room with nothing but the constant beeping of the machine keeping her company.

Clare wasn't sure what to do, or what to think. She looked down at her hands and began to twist and wring her fingers, a nervous habit that she was never able to break, it was always a dead giveaway to anyone who knew her, telling them that she was not feeling okay.

"Just breathe…"She mumbled quietly to herself.

What day was it? How long had she been here? Damn it, she should have asked Jake all this before he stepped out. She wanted nothing more than to pass this off as just a fluke from dehydration or sleep deprivation. When the hell could she leave? Did someone call in at work? Oh dear God, the presentation and the revisions. She pushed the thoughts of work aside before she let the stress get the better of her. She thought back to the tension that had grown between her and Eli and a knot began to form in her stomach when she thought of the unresolved baby discussion-

Clare's breath caught in her throat when the thought of a possible pregnancy passed her mind.

It was an overwhelming thought…taking care of another person, when she herself crashed, burned, and landed herself in a hospital bed. The thought of a pregnancy was a whole entire world of discussion and stress all in its own. She already felt like a failure, she did not want to fail at something as life changing as parenthood. And the fact that she couldn't bring herself to admit that to Eli was unbearable.

Clare was upset and suddenly felt trapped. She became panicked and quickly sat upright then tried to take out the IV attached to her hand and pull her finger out of the grey tab that was also connected to her. She could feel her body become tight with anxiety, the empty white room contributing to her current state of disorientation.

Her movements were a mess of fumbled actions, as she tried to extricate herself from a situation she was unable to face.

"Clare?"

She could hear a voice but the world around her would not register, she continued to try and get herself out from underneath the covers, out of the bed, out of anything and everything she could not handle on her own anymore.

Eli watched as his wife was being held captive in a world of anxiety, washed up by some type of frustration or fear that he could not begin to understand. The look of sadness and defeat on her face made his heart knot up in an aching fit. He approached her carefully but grew worried when he realized she was fumbling around with the different wires, tearing them off of her.

"What the hell are you doing—stop that!" In one swift motion he was at her side, both his hands gripped her shoulders and she tried to twist and pull away.

In response to her protests, Eli's grip only tightened.

"Let me go!" She shouted, finally making eye contact with the one person she couldn't bear to see at the moment. It shouldn't be this way, she shouldn't have to feel so defeated and he shouldn't have to see her like this.

"Hey, hey, hey…shh, calm down, ok? Calm down. You're ok. You're okay. What's going on?"

"I can't calm down! I can't think straight, all I can think about is…I mean, I can't—Oh God," Clare said, her eyes watering. Her words were thrown together and half mumbled.

Eli stared at Clare, his eyes probing hers as he waited for her to keep talking to him. When he saw those tears forming his brows furrowed together in concern and he pulled himself onto the bed with her, even as she continued to try and distance herself from him and his firm grasp.

Eli was about to ask her why she was so upset, but Clare did not give Eli a chance to process what she was going to ask him next.

"Am I pregnant?" She asked bluntly in a harsh voice. He eyes still were watered over, but she refused to let any tears fall.

Eli was taken aback by the forwardness of her question. He slowly released his grip. He kept his eyes locked in on Clare. His hesitation only fueled her frustration.

"What are you talking abou-" he began but was cut off by an emotional Clare.

"God, I'm not an idiot Eli," She began, her voice rising "I know you, and I know that if you called an ambulance then you would have told the doctors in a heartbeat that there was a possibility of me being pregnant for medical reasons! And I just can't sit here feeling stuck and not having any idea what's going on with my own body, especially when there are others around me that know more about my physical state than I do, and have been discussing it while I just sit here unaware of it all!"

She was expecting him to immediately retaliate, to argue with her or tell her to calm down but instead Eli looked down and took a breath, and then placed his hands on her own.

"I know this isn't exactly ideal, and that these past 24 hours have been a blur for you…usually it's the girl who does this," Eli squeezed Clare's hands and kept his focus on her, carefully preparing how he would deliver his next line.

"Clare…we're going to have a baby."

X

**Ahhhh, don't hate me for leaving it there. Sorry I made it a short chapter, I know you guys have been waiting so I at least wanted to get this part out to you guys. **

**So much happening. Looks like Clare is having trouble with getting a handle on her changing life, and the last thing in the world that she wants is to lose her composure, if only she would open up to Eli, and he's got his own set of worries laying heavily on him. I hope you're still hooked, any theories on where these two go from here? Guess you'll just have to wait for the next update :)**

**you know the drill—**

**Reviews = Love**

**Love = Happiness and Motivation**

**Motivation = New Chapter Faster**

**Need I say more? ;)**

**Til' next time**

**-Lebs.**


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